


Welcome to Riverdale

by spaceprincessem



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M, Matrix AU, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-08-16 17:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceprincessem/pseuds/spaceprincessem
Summary: Everyday was the same for Jughead Jones. Wake up. Go to school. Coffee. Write. Go home. Sleep. Nothing ever happened in the quiet town of Riverdale. That is, until a mysterious blonde girl shows up in Pop's and tells Jughead that not everything is as it seems. Now Jughead is thrust into the possibility that the world around him may not be real and the town of Riverdale isn't as pleasant and safe as its infamous mayor, Hiram Lodge, would have everyone believe.Everything leads back to his father's disappearance and now Jughead must decide what is real and what is part of the Matrix. No where is safe and the last thing he expects is to fall for the girl that woke him up to the truth.





	1. Chapter 1

It was the same, everyday. Wake up. Go to school. Coffee. Write. Go home. Sleep. Even the number of cups of coffee Jughead put away each time he was at Pop’s was the same. He leaned back in his booth, hands stretching high over his grey beanie. He heard the sound of coffee splashing in his cup and he smiled slightly. 

Three.

That was the number he was on. One more and he would be done. He would pack up his laptop, go home, and restart his day all over again. It was hard to write a thrilling novel when nothing ever happened in Riverdale. The only creepy thing that ever occurred was how normal everyone seemed to be. A little too normal. That and the posters and billboards of their mayor, Hiram Lodge, that seemed to be everywhere. It’s like he was always watching you. Jughead always prided himself on being a little different, but if he thought about it, he wasn’t all that different than anyone else. He did the same thing every day. The only thing that made him stand out was the black jacket with a serpent on the back. A gift from his father who had disappeared over a year ago.

He took a sip of coffee and turned his thoughts back to his story. If his life had been more exciting he might have actually made progress. All he could do was write a prologue about a town that was too normal. He sighed as he closed his laptop in defeat. Some writer he was. From somewhere in the shop he heard the click of the jute box.

“Three…two…one…” He counted out loud to himself. 

Right on schedule the song “Lollipop” started playing throughout the shop. He had come to hate that song. He started to pack up his stuff with frustration, his fourth cup of coffee being filled as he stuffed his laptop away. He murmured a “thanks” to Pops and started put away his last cup. Once he was done he began to shuffle out of the booth in defeat. The tinkle of Pop’s bell caught him off guard, it never went off at this time. He looked up and nearly fell out of his seat when he caught sight of who had just walked in. 

She stood just a few inches shorter than he, her blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her green eyes were staring right at him. Jughead gulped as he stared right back. Jughead was usually not stunned by girls and he typically ignored them at school. They were nothing, but stuck up cheerleaders and mean girls. This girl, she was beautiful, and Jughead was definitely taking notice. He had never seen her before, a disturbance in the normalcy that usually swallowed up this boring, old town. He blinked and suddenly she was turning away from him, moving towards the counter.

“You must be new in town.” Jughead heard Pop’s say to the girl. 

“No, actually.” She said and Jughead was surprised to hear how soft and warm her voice sounded. “But it’s been a long time.”

She wasn’t new, but he had never seen her before, how could he have grown up all his life in Riverdale and had never seen her before.

“A strawberry milkshake, Pop.” She said as she looked back at Jughead.

He felt frozen in his seat, why was this girl looking at him? Something was off. She was ruining everything. This was not how things worked. He woke up. He went to school. Four cups of coffee at Pop’s. Worked on his novel. Repeat. She was disrupting whatever matrix he had been stuck in all his life. He vaguely heard Pop asking him something, but it all sounded muffled, from a distance. All that mattered was this girl. She was in a pink sweater with a black jacket overtop and jeans. Simple, yet she stood out from all the grey that usually surrounded him. He started to move, he needed to know her name, and bumped right into Pop.

“Jughead, more coffee?” Pop had asked again as Jughead plowed into him.

The collusion had caused Jughead to grab onto the table in front of him, knocking his empty coffee mug to the ground, shattering it. The sound was deafening. Jughead was shocked as he looked at the pieces scatter in slow motion. He felt like he was in a trance, but as quickly as it came, he suddenly snapped out of it.

“I’m sorry Pop.” Jughead said as he quickly dropped to his knees, trying to gather up all of the broken pieces. As his rough fingers quickly scooped up the glass, they brushed against something soft. He was startled to see the girl had kneeled down to help him and their hands had accidently touched. 

“S-sorry.” Jughead said as he got a closer look at her. 

Up close she was even prettier. Her face looked gentle and kind, but there was some sort of mystery behind her eyes, one Jughead suddenly felt like he was dying to know. Her soft, pink, lips were curled into a small smile as she handed him a few of the broken pieces.

“Thanks.” He said, his fingers brushing over her perfectly pink, painted nails. He noticed moon shaped scars on her palms and was more intrigued than ever. His eyes wandered back up to her face and he nearly stumbled backwards at how close she was, her smile gone and her eyes narrowed on him. Everything around him seemed to freeze. “Lollipop” faded from the shop and all Jughead could hear was his own breathing as he looked at the mystery girl in front of him.

“This isn’t the only thing broken in Riverdale, Jughead.” Jughead was taken aback, his eyes wide as a dangerous edge filled her voice. She knew his name. How did she know his name? “Wake up, Jughead, wake up.” She whispered. 

He moved a few inches backward, his heart pounding at her words. What did she mean? How did she know him? Who was she? Before he could even began to ask her any questions the world around him was catching up. “Lollipop” was blasting from the jute box as conversation amongst others in the diner picked up again. The girl was already moving towards the door as Pop dragged Jughead up to his feet. How did she move so fast? He watched as he she gave him one last look, her blonde ponytail swaying gracefully. As she moved away he caught something familiar on the back of her black jacket he hadn’t noticed before. It was a green serpent. The same green serpent that was on the jacket his father had left him. The jacket he was wearing right that very moment.

“Wait!” He said as he pushed himself forward, breaking from whatever spell had fallen over him. 

He moved to the door, the bell tingling over him, and stepped out into the rainy evening. Jughead could feel his heart thumping, but the girl was nowhere to be seen. He stumbled down the few stairs leading to Pop’s, but there was no one around save the people who were still left in the diner. Jughead was alone. He ran back into the diner, grabbing his stuff, and hopped on his bike, heading home.

The trailer park was quiet, like it usually was. It felt like the few moments that had passed by in the diner were just a dream. Nothing ever happened to Jughead, so why should anything start now? He parked his bike and stumbled up the stairs to his dad’s trailer. The usual hope that filled him that his dad had returned home was overshadowed by his desire to know who this girl was and why she knew his name. He threw his bag on the table, quickly took off his helmet and pulled out his laptop.

“Dammit.” He muttered realizing it was dead. He quickly got up and grabbed a pencil from the counter, tearing a piece of paper from a note pad that hung on the fridge. He began writing down every detail he could remember about the blonde girl. He didn’t want to wake up in the morning and forget everything that had happened.

“But what did you mean?” He asked out loud to himself as he read over the worlds she had spoken to him.

This isn’t the only thing broken in Riverdale

Wake up, Jughead, wake up

“But what do you want me to wake up from?” Jughead asked with frustration as his pencil circled her words furiously. “And who are you?” He yelled into his empty trailer like the mystery girl would show up and give him the answers he demanded. He stared down at the paper for several, long minutes, before giving up for the moment. He didn’t know what she wanted and his brain was too tired to figure anything out. 

He pulled his beanie from his head and shrugged off his jacket. He picked up his note and stuck them on the fridge with a magnet next to another note written by his dad almost a year ago. 

Jug, I have to take care of something. I left my jacket for you to hold on to until I get back. I’ll see you soon. I love you. Dad. 

Jughead ran his fingers over his dad’s handwriting. It had started to fade, but he couldn’t’ bring himself to remove the note off the fridge. He remembered waking up, later than normal, and when he came into the kitchen, an eerie silence had settled over the foggy morning. His dad was always up before he was. FP prided himself on his terrible black coffee he made that Jughead gulped down because he didn’t have the heart to tell his dad how awful it tasted. But that morning there had been no coffee. Just a note hanging on a fridge and his dad’s serpent jacket slung across the table. 

A few days of waiting turned into a week of waiting before he went to the sheriff to report a missing persons. The sheriff had stated that they would work on it, but Jughead knew better. A missing father from the rougher edge of town wasn’t really a priority. So a few missing weeks turned into a few missing months and soon it a year had gone by. The weirdest part was he seemed to be the only person to remember his father. It was like he had been erased from the whole town itself. Jughead flew pretty under the radar, which is how he mostly liked it, but back then he at least had his dad. Now he was just alone.

“Maybe I’ll wake up and everything will be different tomorrow.” Jughead said as he gave the notes one last look. “Or maybe it will be all the same.” He said with a heavy sigh as he headed off to his room to go to bed.

-

The next morning Jughead groaned as his alarm went off at the same time it always did in the morning. The trailer was quiet, but he could hear the birds chirping just outside his window. He took in a deep breath and bolted up right as the faint smell of coffee being made filled his nostrils. He tore the covers from the bed and ran out into the kitchen in just his boxers, the coffee smell growing stronger. The disappointment that filled him was heavy and weighed on his chest as he looked into an empty kitchen. The scent of coffee was still there, but it was slowly fading before it disappeared all together. Jughead marched over to the coffee machine and examined it. He hadn’t turned the damn thing since his dad had disappeared, so how the hell did it smell like fresh coffee in his kitchen?

“I must be losing my mind.” Jughead mumbled as he set the machine back down on the counter. He turned to head back to the bedroom to shower and get ready for school when he caught sight of the two notes on the fridge. His heart began beating rapidly in his chest when he looked at his most recent one. In big, red letters, over his handwriting was the message “REMEMBER”.

“I definitely did not write that.” He said out loud as he snatched the note off of the fridge. He looked closely at it, running his fingers over the letters, like touching them would give him some sort of clue as to what they meant. Remember. Remember what? The past few hours had left Jughead with more questions than he had ever asked in his life. What was broken about Riverdale? Who was the mystery girl? Why was she wearing the same jacket he had? Did this have to do with his father’s disappearance? And what was he supposed to remember? The only thoughts that came to his head were his every day routine. Nothing had changed in the past years since he had started high school. Before that was a little muddled. What was happening to him? The phone rang causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. He slowly approached it, his hands shaking as he picked it up. 

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is a reminder that at 1:25 pm today we will be conducting a fire drill at Riverdale High School…”

Jughead hung up the phone on the automated voice sighing with relief. He looked over at the clock on the microwave and realized he was going to be late for school if he didn’t start getting ready soon. He placed the note on the kitchen table and ran into the shower. He grabbed a piece of toast while stuffing his laptop in his backpack hurriedly. He paused only for a moment when he noticed the note still sitting on the table next to his jacket. He quickly threw his jacket on and stuffed the note into his jean pocket before he took off for school. 

His fingers curled around the note in his jacket pocket as he walked through the halls of school. He pushed passed the jocks, their broad shoulders bumping him out of their way, and the cheerleaders, their eyes barely glancing at him. He would usually glare at them in return, but his mind was concentrated on the words written on that piece of paper, crumpled in his hand. He barely heard the words of his teachers, his mind drifting off to last night at Pop’s. Her green eyes pierced his memory. How could she have known him? Did he know her? He would have remembered eyes like hers. Hauntingly beautiful, with an air of mystery. Maybe if he had just gotten a name he could have tried to figure out who she was. Was she a student at Riverdale High? He had taken the time at lunch to look around and see if he recognized her face amongst the crowd, but with no such luck. It was the same faces he knew so well. No mystery blonde with green eyes and a soft smile that made her face look beautiful.

“Don’t forget General Pickens Day is tomorrow.” Jughead’s teacher said, pulling him from his thoughts. “Our mayor, Hiram Lodge, will be speaking!”

Hiram Lodge. Jughead nearly snorted at the name. Hiram Lodge was less of a mayor and more of an overlord to Jughead. There was something in the way his face looked, plastered on every corner and billboard in the town, that just gave you the feeling that you were always being watched. The only time Jughead had ever met Hiram was when he personally came to visit him and ask about his dad’s disappearance. Jughead had thought it odd that the mayor would care about a Southside Serpent that lived in a trailer park and his smile had seem just a hair too perfect to be real. After that conversation Jughead had always tried to make sure he stayed as far away from Hiram Lodge as the town would let him.

“That is one festival I will not be attending.” Jughead muttered to himself as the fire alarm went off.

“Okay, class,” the teacher said calm from the front of the room, “single file line like we’ve practice and we will head outside.”

Jughead grabbed his jacket from his chair and swung it on as he followed the rest of his classmates out the door into the hallway. Everyone usually took advantage of fire drills by pulling out their phones and texting friends from other classes, giggling as they passed each other in the hallway. Jughead marched quietly at the back of the line as they moved outside. His mind was still waffling between the note on his fridge and the girl from Pop’s. He wondered if he would see her again tonight if he went back around the same time. She obviously knew when he would be there. If he could just corner her for a few moments then maybe he could get some answers. He leaned against a tree outside, his head starting to pound. The cool air felt refreshing on his face as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. A headache was exactly what he needed with everything that was going on.

“Jughead, we’re moving.” The girl in front of him said, catching his attention.

Jughead sighed as he started following the line back into the school, out of the corner of his eye he saw her. Jughead paused in his step as he slowly turned. There she was, the mystery blonde standing just a few feet from where he was. She was smiling, her hands in the pockets of the black leather jacket she had been wearing last night. The sunlight fell across her fair skin, catching her green eyes, captivating him. Seeing her once was enough to make him think it was just a dream, but seeing her twice made him doubt his own mind.

“Jughead,” she said softly, but he could hear her perfectly, “remember. We need your help.”

Jughead just stared at her, his head pounding harder than ever. He should move towards her, ask her more questions, but the only thing that came out of his parted lips was, “Who are you?”

Before she could say anymore the pounding in his head reached a climax and Jughead felt his eyes roll back into his head, his body falling to the ground, as he fell unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

Piercing cold fell over his body as his lungs sucked in air, his body thrashing. He was drowning, tangled in wires, and struggling to break free. He couldn’t escape. He couldn’t breathe. He felt like a wild animal that couldn’t control his movements. He couldn’t remember where he was he could barely remember who he was. Just a body, not a person, no memory or feelings except fear and desire to be free.

“Jughead.”

Jughead blinked several times, the low light washing over him as he groaned in pain. He could feel his head throbbing as he slowly sat up. His surroundings became clear to him and he realized he was in the nurse’s office at school. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. Moments ago he felt like he was drowning, but that couldn’t have been real. He was here, he was fine. 

“Jughead, how are you feeling?” The nurse asked as she walked over, giving him a cold compress to put on his head.

“Erm,” the coolness of the compress felt nice and he had to remember how he got there in the first place, “fine I guess.”

“You passed out during the fire drill.” The nurse explained. “Have you had a headache all day?”

“Not really.” Jughead answered, wishing his brain wasn’t so groggy. He still couldn’t shake the terrible feeling of drowning, but he was trying to piece everything together. “It kind of started during the fire drill and then…” He stopped. He remembered what happened before he had passed out. He had seen that girl, the blonde one from Pop’s. She had been in the yard wearing a Serpent’s jacket, like his father. She said they needed his help, but who were “they” and who was she? What could she possibly need him for?

“And then what?” The nurse asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

Jughead tried to manage a smile, but it pulled more like a grimace. He couldn’t tell anyone what he saw. Weird things didn’t happen in a town like Riverdale. Everything was always perfectly ordinary, the same thing everyday. If he strayed from the norm it would cause trouble. It was already enough to raise the alarm that he had passed out from a headache.

“Then nothing.” He said with a shrug. “My head was pounding so badly I just kind of passed out.

The nurse looked at him for a moment and Jughead felt like she was studying him a bit too hard to be just a concerned school nurse. Before he could defend himself anymore she turned away. “Too much coffee Mr. Jones, you have become dependent on the caffeine.”

“Yeah,” Jughead said with a nod of his head, “that’s probably it.” The nurse handed him a note as he gathered his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. 

“I suggest you go home Mr. Jones and get some rest.” She said before she opened the door and escorted him out into the hallway. “Have a good day.”

Jughead looked at the closed door for a minute before heading down the hallway toward the front entrance. He wanted to beat the rush of students switching to their last period of the day. He was glad the nurse gave him a pass to leave early. It would give him some time to go back and see if that girl was still there. The fresh air helped ease the pain in his throbbing head as he headed to the spot by the tree he had been standing at during the fire drill. The schoolyard was quiet and there was no one in sight. Jughead peered around bushes and trees, but the girl was long gone. 

“You are a mystery, blondie.” Jughead muttered as he headed to his motorcycle. The familiar pull to head to Pop’s and work on is novel was there, like it always was, but the desire to go home was stronger. He was off his game and out of his routine, but at the moment he didn’t care. He just wanted to go home a lie down. Maybe if he could clear his head he could focus on this strange girl.

Jughead threw his helmet down on the table and opened the fridge, grabbing a pop before leaning his head against the freezer door. He closed his eyes, his vision swimming between the smiling girl and the suffocating blackness. What was happening to him? Why was he suddenly seeing these things and feeling these things. He wasn’t important or special, the only thing that had happened in his life was that his father ran out on him. He opened his eyes, his fingers running over the note. Everyday he had wondered what his dad had to take care of and why he hadn’t come back yet.

“Where are you?” Jughead murmured angrily as he banged the note with his fist. He suddenly remembered the note he had stuffed in his pocket from this morning. He reached in and unfolded the piece of paper. His description of the girl was covered by those big, red letters that spelled out “REMEMBER”. Someone was trying to get him a message, but what the hell was he supposed to remember. A sharp knock on the door made him jump and he quickly stuffed the note back into his pocket.

“Sheriff Minetta,” Jughead said as he opened the door, “what a surprise.” As if this day couldn’t get weirder the sheriff of Riverdale was at his door. 

“Jughead, may I come in?” He asked. 

Jughead cocked an eyebrow, “Did I do something wrong?” He asked with an almost cheeky grin.

“Just checking in.” Minetta said a little too casually. “I heard you had an incident at school and as seeing you don’t have a parent around…”

Jughead threw him a look, but stepped aside to let the sheriff in. He was so happy his note was buried in his pocket instead of hanging up on the fridge. The last thing he needed was someone figuring out that something strange was going on with him. Sheriff Minetta walked around the small kitchen, his hand resting on his hip just above his gun. He paused, reading the note from his father.

“Haven’t had any contact with your father since his disappearance, have you?” Minetta asked, turning to look at Jughead, as if he was looking for a reaction.

Jughead immediately felt himself go on guard, his heart skipping a beat. “That note on my fridge was the last thing my dad left me.” He said carefully. “I don’t know where he is or if he’s even alive.” The last part he said more softly. He didn’t know if his dad was alive and he tried not to dwell on it too much. He had always believed his dad would come back someday and the alternative was too much to bare. He would truly be alone in this world.

“We’ll see you tomorrow at the General Pickens Day fair?” It was less of a question and more of a threat.

Jughead pulled a smile to his face, one he reserved for adults that liked to tell him what to do. “Of course,” his fingers pointed over to his camera sitting on the table next to his helmet, “got to get that inside scoop for the Blue and Gold.” He responded matter-of-factly.

Sheriff Minetta smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes as he nodded his head and turned towards the door. “Good to see young people in good hobbies.” Jughead opened the door and Minetta stepped outside, he turned and gave one last to Jughead. “Have a good evening, Mr. Jones.”

Jughead felt himself breathe deeply as he sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. He shouldn’t have been nervous, he didn’t do anything wrong. Yet, it felt like he had been interrogated for no reason.

He’s just shaking the trees.

His father’s voice rang in his head, like he was sitting right across from him at the table.

“But why?” Jughead asked. “I pass out from a headache at school and suddenly I’m under fire from the sheriff?”

He thinks you’re hiding something.

“But I’m not hiding anything. I’m just a bit antisocial.”

Are you sure?

“What do you mean?”

What’s that note burning in your pocket?

Jughead reached into his jeans and pulled out the note. How could Minetta even know that it exist? Was he being watched? Did someone else know about the blonde girl that was visiting him? 

“I wish you were here so I could figure this out.”

You were always smarter than I ever was.

“But I don’t understand what’s happening to me!”

There was no answer from his father that wasn’t there. Jughead had always thought he was used to being alone, but it weighed on him heavily every moment. He sighed as he realized he would have to go to Pickens Day tomorrow to keep up appearances. 

“Wonder if Hiram Lodge will have anything enlightening to say.” Jughead mumbled as he stood up and headed for the shower.

-

Jughead had woken up several times throughout the night. His dreams had felt so real and some had even felt like memories. He had been drowning in the darkness again, tangled in wires, trying to catch his breath before he felt like he was falling. He had landed in the schoolyard, sitting at on of the many tables people frequented during lunchtime. There had been people sitting around him, his friends. There was a girl with dark hair and dark eyes, her head resting in her hand as she smiled at a boy sitting next to her. The boy had fiery red hair and he was strumming a guitar, half laughing half singing random lyrics. Next to him he was surprised to see the blonde girl, her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing a pink sweater. She was saying something, her hand wrapping around his arm, butterflies fluttering in his stomach…

“Do I know you?” Jughead asked the ceiling as he lay in bed, his hands running through his messy hair. “Why does it feel like I know you?” He closed his eyes, her smiling face swimming in his mind. He liked that smile, it was like a ray of sunshine and he wanted to bask in it. “You may not even be real and I feel like I have a crush on you.” Jughead said with slight chuckle.

He got up from his bed and got ready for the day. The fairgrounds were packed with the whole town of Riverdale. He wandered through the crowd taking pictures of people, catching Sheriff Minetta’s eye, showing him what a good boy he was being. He just had to make it through Mayor Lodge’s speech before he could escape for the day. He wanted to head over to the library and do some research on the school records. He was determined to figure out who this mystery girl was. 

He stood near the front of the crowd, so he could snap a picture of their overlord speaking. There was some introduction speaker talking about everything Hiram had accomplished as Mayor and how the town was such a safe place. Jughead felt himself nearly falling asleep against the gazebo railing he was leaning against. The crowd was listening intently, like zombies caught in a hypnotizing stare, unmoving. If he hadn’t had turned his head he would have missed the movement amongst the crowd. His body snapped to attention, fully awake as his eyes focused on someone darting through the people.

“What the hell.” He whispered as he took a step forward. The speaker was still droning on and it was like no one saw what was happening. There was more than one person moving and they were getting closer to the stage. Jughead could feel his heart starting to race. Something was about to happen; he could feel it in his bones. Should he warn the crowd? Should he wait to see what happened? Should he run? He was surprised he didn’t see Sheriff Minetta busting through to break up the trouble. Come to think of it, he didn’t even see Minetta anywhere. He saw metal canisters rise in the air and he froze against the wood of the gazebo. Smoke starting spewing out as they were thrown to the ground and the panic started to set in.

Things like this didn’t happen in Riverdale. There were never any riots, rebellions, or trouble making, so what the hell was happening to this town? Before Jughead could take off running he felt something grab onto his hand, fingers intertwining in his own. He turned and was startled to see his mystery blonde inches from his face. The smiling girl in his dream was gone and replaced with a girl who had fire and determination in her eyes. Jughead wasn’t sure which he liked might, but he felt his heart nearly bursting from his chest.

“Come with me.” She said and Jughead didn’t hesitate to follow her.

The chaos erupted around them, but Jughead couldn’t take his eyes off of her as they moved through the terrified crowd. The sound of gunfire caught him off guard, but the girl’s hand only held on to him tighter. She was like a tether, keeping him grounded to reality.

“Who are you?” He asked over the noise of the screams. He needed to know before something terrible happened, before it was too late. 

She turned, still pulling him through the crowd, a sad smile on her face. “You know who I am, you just don’t remember yet.”

A cryptic answer. That’s all he ever got. One mystery after another, but never deserving of the answer. He pulled them to a stop, surprising the girl. He was tired of playing this game. 

“Please,” He said, “You don’t need to explain everything now, like how you own the same jacket as my father,” he explained as he looked her over, “but can I at least know your name?”

He saw her smile, the dream smile, break over her face and his heart warmed a bit. “Betty,” she murmured and all of the noise and chaos seemed to fade away, “my name is Betty.”

“Betty.” Jughead said as he rolled her name over his tongue. It taste like a Pop’s chocolate shake on a summer day. It tasted like a memory long forgotten. “I like that.”

They both laughed and Jughead nearly forgot where he was until a loud bang brought him back to reality. He watched Betty’s smile melt into shock and horror as her eyes fell down to his stomach. Jughead ran his hands over his stomach, and he felt himself stumble backwards as the blood shown brightly over his pale fingers. He then felt the searing pain as he gripped his midsection, collapsing into Betty’s arms as she screamed for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I promise this story is not dead. I just had to take a break for a while. I kept thinking about this story and where I wanted it to go. I sat down and the words just wrote themselves on my page! Very happy with where I want it to go. SO! If you are still interested I will keep writing! Tell me what you all thought of this chapter, your kind words are always so lovely!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! I've had this idea stuck in my head for a little while. While a lot of the ideas are based off of the movie The Matrix, there will be a lot of differences between this story and what happens in the movie. This story might take me a bit longer to write, so hang in there with me! Please, let me know what you think of this story!


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